Wire lock for fences



(No Model.)

J. W. PAGE.

WIRE LOOK FOR FENCES.

Patented Sept. 25, 1883.

INVENTOIM" a; BY u WITNESSES ATTORNEYS. I

' down or from being pushed down by animals,

fence; and it consists in a novel construction UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

JOHN wALLAoE PAGE, OF ROLLlN, MICHIGAN.

WIRE LOOK FOR FENCES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 285,660, dated September 25, 1883.

Application filed Mai-ch14, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom zit-may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN WALLACE PAGE, of Rollin, in the county of Lenawee and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wire Looks for Fences, of which the following is a full, clear, and eX- act description.

This invention relates to looks for worm rail fences, in which wire is drawn around the. rails to prevent the fence from being blown.

also whereby provison is made for tightening the lock from time to time, as shrinkage or wear often renders necessary in all fences where the rails are simply laid one upon the other.

Fence-locks of this description have been variously constructed. Some of them have consisted of loops or bands arranged'to-pass .up both sides of the fence and over the crossed or-interlapping ends of the rails, and have been tightened up either by wedges driven between the rails or by twisting the wire by means of an open end or loop above the top rail, while others, again, have only passed up one side of the fence and partly round or through the upper and lower rails, and been formed with twists at or near their ends, and with staples at their ends for securing them into the rails.

My invention more especially relates to this latter construction of wire locks, in which the wire is economized by only being run or extended wholly up or down one side of the of such lock and arrangement of the same relatively to the rails, whereby a more secure tie of the rails is. obtained, every provisionmade for tightening the look from time to time, and no staples or other like fastenings are necessary to secure the ends of the wire.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure 1 represents a view in perspective of a wormfence in part with my improved wire lock applied and Fig. 2, a view upon a larger scale, looking toward the'end of one tier of rails. 1

A A in the drawings indicate the rails of an ordinary wornrfence, and B B the wire locks arranged to unite the fails at or near their points, where they cross or interlace. Each of these locks consists of a single piece of wire, which has its one end portion, (1., passed under a bottom rail, from thence round said bottom rail and round the main portion or body of wire, and said lower end portion afterward twisted and secured round itself. The main portion or body of the wire is then passed up the one side of the fence, and its op posite or upper end portion, a, passes over the top rail and under or around the projecting ends of two or more of the upper rails beneath the top one, and then round the main portion or body of the wire and twisted or secured upon itself.

- I have described securing the lower end portion, a, of the wire first; but in practice I propose to secure the upper end portion, a, first, and the lower one, a, subsequently. After the lock has been thus applied and secured, then the necessary tension may be given to it by prying with a lever applied over the end of any one of the intermediate rails below the upper bound ones and under the rail just above it, and afterward inserting a block of wood, piece of rail, or even a flat stone, I), laid in the gap thus formed between the rails, for the purpose of retaining the strain on the lock.

This construction of lock provides most effectually for holding the rails both in crosswise and endwise directions. The lock is easily applied without requiring any special exercise of skill, is tight, cheap, and simple, and may be readily tightened up from time to time, or be detached when it is required to remove or repair the fence, and as each end of the wire is looped around the main portion of it, and twisted and secured upon itself, either end of the wire may be adjusted without disturbing the "other, and no separate fastenings are necessary to secure the ends. The same mode of fastening the lock, arranged to extend down only one side of the fence, may be applied by first letting the farthest end of the top rail down to the ground, then passing the lower end of the wire under the bottom rail, from thence through the fence to the workman, up

over the top rail at about siX or eight inches from the point where it crosses the next rail below, then back down under the second rail from the top to and twisting it around the main portion of the wire running to the ground, after which the lower end of the wire may be drawn moderately tight, cut off, and twisted around the main portion or body of the wire running to the top of the fence. The necessary tension may afterward be given to this look by merely lifting the farther end of the top rail to its proper place 011 the fence; but this construction and arrangement of the lock do not secure the rails so close to their points, nor so firmly tie in different directions the upper rails, as do the construction and arrangement shown in the drawings.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire ,to secure by Letters Patent In wire locks for zigzag fences, the combination,with the rail ends, of a wire having one end wrapped about the bottom rail of one panel, and secured by a twist above said rail to the body of wire, and the other end, a, carried diagonally around the top rails of both adjoining panels and the second of one of them, and tied by a twist to the body of wire, as and for the purpose specified.

JOHN WALLACE PAGE.

\Vitnesses:

THOMAS J. HILLER, CHARLES B. CRANDELL. 

